Ice-house.



No. 654,148; Patnted July 24,1900. o` Gummi. ICE HOUSE.

. (Application Bled June 5, 1899.) (No Model.)A

agili Unire rares OSSIAN GUTHRIE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,148, dated July 24, 1900.

Application led June 5, 1899. Serial No. 712.410. No model.) A

T0 all wtont it may concern:

Be it known that I, OssIAN GUTHRIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Oook and State of Illinois,

have invented a new and useful Ice-House,

up,7 so to speak, the cold in the ice-house,-

and hence enabling the ice to be with less loss through meltage.

The invention consists,substantially, in the construction, combination, location, and arrangement, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth, as shown in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, and to the various views and reference-signs appearing thereon, Figure l is a View in perspective, parts broken out, of an ice-house embodying the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail View in section on the line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a similar View on the line 3 3, Fig. 1.

In the preservation of ice it is the common practice to store the ice in suitable buildings or the rooms thereof, the ice, in the form of cakes or blocks, after being harvested being stacked or piled up in the house or room until the house or room is filled. The house or room is then securely closed up until it is desired to withdraw the ice for shipment or use. It frequently happens, however,'that after the ice is stored and the house or room is sealed up a cold wave occurs, which reducesthe atinospheric temperature to a point below that of the stored ice. It is the purpose of my invention to provide an arrangement whereby advantage is taken of the drops in the atmospheric temperature to a point below that of the stored ice to reduce the temperature of the mass of stored ice, thus storing up the cold, so to speak, and hence maintaining the temperature of the mass of stored ice at a'point below the melting-point, thus preserving the ice and prcventin g waste thereof through preserved lineltage. With this end in viewI provide suit able openings in the walls of the building or rooms, and preferably at points near the ground, which are auxiliary to the usual door or entry way through which the ice is introduced or removed from the building or room. These openings serve to open direct commu*- nication between the interior of the house or room and the outer air. I also provide similar openings in the ceiling of the house or room,opening communication between the interior of the rooms or house and the space between the ceiling and roof, and I arrange a suitable chimney stack or flue in the roof. By this arrangement it will be seen that when a cold wave occurs after the ice is stored and the room or house is sealed up and which reduces the temperature of the outer` air to a point below that of the stored ice by opening up the doors or other closures which close said openings in the Walls and ceiling of the rooms or house a draft is created through the rooms or house and through and between the crevices and joints of the stacked or piled-up cakes or blocks of ice, the cold atmospheric air entering through the auxiliary openings in the walls of the house or rooms and asf @ending through the mass of ice, thereby reducing the temperature thereof and finally passing through the openings in the ceiling and out through the chimney stack or flue. In this manner the cold atmospheric air thus passed through the mass of stacked or piledup ice gives up or yields its cold to the ice, which is correspondingly reduced in temperature to an equality with that of the outer air, and hence to a point far below that at whichthe stored ice is usually maintained. When the mass of ice has been thus reduced in temperature, the openings are again closed and sealed, and the ice at its reduced temperature is the better able to withstand the eect of subsequent rises of the atmospheric temperature,and hence can be preserved with comparatively-small loss or waste through nieltage throughout the hot summer months. I have shown in the drawings' an arrangement embodying these general principles, wherein reference-sign A designates an icehouse and which, if desired, maybe partitioned off into one or more rooms in the usual manner. The house A may becon- IOO structed in the usual or any well-known or suitable manner, but preferably has the double Walls B C, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) with the space between filled with a suitable non-conductor of heat. This construction, however, is not essential to the principles of my invention, but is mentioned as being the usual construction of ice-houses. Reference-sign D designates the ceiling of the room or rooms of the house; E, the space between such ceiling and the roof F, and Gr the iiue or chimney, which is arranged to communicatewith the space E. The doorway or entrance through which the ice is carried or'removed in storing is indicated at I-I. may be constructed in the usual or any convenient manner and at any desired point to suit the convenience of the packers. The ice is indicated by reference-sign J and is stacked or piled up in the rooms or house. When the house or rooms have been filled to the desired point, the doorway H is permanently closed in any suitable or well-known manner.

In carrying out my invention I provide a number of small auxiliary openings, and I arrange the same to be closed air-tight by the doors L. These openings are arranged at suitable or desirable intervals through the walls of the house or rooms at points adjacent to the ground, as shown, and when the doors L are open said openings open direct communication between the interior of the rooms or house at points near the base thereof and the outer air. SimilarlyI arrange openings and doors M at suitable points in the ceiling of the rooms or house, and which when opened up open communication between the interior of the rooms or house and the space E. Now should the atmospheric temperature fall below that of the stored ice after the ice-house has been sealed by opening up the doors L M a draft is created `through the mass of Stored ice, the cold atmospheric air being drawn into the rooms or house through the openings controlled by doors L, and which yielding its cold to the ice becomes warmer, andhence lighter, ascends through the mass of ice and through the openings in the ceiling controlled by doors M, and finally passes oif through the ue or chimney, as indicated bythe arrows. If desired and in order to accelerate this draft, a suit-able fan or blower N m'ay be arranged in the chimney to create a. forced draft. This blower or fan,however, maybe omitted and merely the natural draft depended upon, the chimney being of sufficient area and height to insure a proper and suitable draft. After this draft has been maintained a length of time sufficient to cause the temperature of the mass of stored ice to be reduced throughout the entire mass thereof to that of the outer air the auxiliary doors may. be closed, thus again sealing up the rooms or. house, the stored ice being maintained at the reduced temperature.

I have referred to the storing and preserva- 'lhis doorway ever, that the principles of lmy invention may be equally-well applied to the preservation of stored artificial ice.

In the storing of ice a loss amounting to ten per cent. of the amount stored through meltage is usually calculated upon. The loss, however, from meltage is but a small part of the actual loss sustained through the effects of .meltage For instance, the trickling of meltage through and between the cakes of stored ice through regelation causes the cakes of `ice to freeze solidly together into one solid mass, necessitating the time and expense of sawing or cutting the solid mass into blocks when required for shipment or use. The loss incurred through this sou rce is usually calculated at twenty per cent. of the amountof the stored ice. Moreover, when the meltageoccurs at the bottom of the pile of stacked ice undermining of the stack takes place, causing the pile or a considerable portion thereof to lurch or to fallagainst the wall of the building, thereby frequently injuring the building and opening up cracks or seams, `through which the hot air of the summer is admitted, thereby rapidly destroying and melting the stored ice, and the loss from this source is a matter of material consequence. In the practical operation of an ice-house embodying my invention, wherein the temperature of the entire body of the mass of stored ice is reduced in extremely-frigid weather to a point far below that of the stored ice when originally housed, the loss through meltage is entirely saved, as well as the loss above noted, and which results from the effects of the meltage. This saving is an important feature and `is due to the fact that `the cold outer air, the temperature of which is far `below that of the stored ice, is admitted at points close to the ground through the auxiliary openings through the walls of the ice-house and circulates through the entire mass of stored ice, through the openings in the ceiling of the rooms into the space in the room, and out through the chimney, this arrangement maintaining a draft of cold air through the mass of stored ice,thereby reducing the temperature of such mass `to that of the outer air. When this point is reached, the auxiliary doors are closed and the openings through the ceiling are closed, theerby storing up the cold, so to speak,and enabling the stored ice to. resist the melting effect of the heat during the summer months or during subsequent rises of the atmospheric temperature.

I-I'aving now set forth the object and nature of my invention,and an arrangement embodying the principles thereof, whatIclaim as new and useful and of my own invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In an ice-house for storing ice,and having one or more rooms, a ceiling arranged to extend over such room or rooms, and a roof, and the usual doors and entrance-ways, a flue or chimney arranged to communicate with the space between the ceiling and room, a series IOO IIO

of auxiliary openings through the Walls of said house, said openings located adjacent to the base thereof, and opening direct communication between the outer air and the interior of said rooms at the base, and auxiliary openings in said ceiling7 whereby the outer air admitted to the rooms at the base thereof circulates through the mass of stored ice, through the auxiliary openings in the ceiling, into the space in the roof, and out through the chimney, thereby reducing the temperature of the entire mass of stored ice to that of the outer atmosphere, and means for closing said auxiliary openings in said Walls and ceiling, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an ice-house forstoringice, and having one or more rooms, a ceiling for said rooms, a roof, and the usual entrance or door Ways adapted to be permanently closed when the room or rooms are filled with ice, a flue or chimney arranged to communicate with the space between said ceiling and roof, a series of auxiliary openings through the Walls of said house, said openings located adjacent to the base thereof and opening direct communication between the outer air and the interior of said rooms, auxiliary openings through said ceiling, whereby when said auxiliary openings in the Walls and ceiling are opened, atmospheric air is admitted to said rooms at points adjacent to the base thereof, and circulates throughlthe mass of stored ice,through the lopenings in the ceiling into the space in said roof,and out through said chimney,there by reducing the temperature of the entire mass of stored ice to the atmosphere of the outer air, means for closing said auxiliary openings, and means for creating an artificial draft through said chimney, as and for the purpose set forth.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 2d day of June, 1899, in the presence of the subscribing witnesses.

OSSIAN GUTHRIE.

Witnesses:

E. C. SEMPLE, S. E. DARBY. 

